I've Got You
by Master-Magician
Summary: Mal was always so confident and strong, her very nature despised weakness. Not in others as much in herself than anything. She meant it when they were preparing the love spell that she never cried. Tears were signs of weakness and Mal refused to show weakness. When Mal finally breaks, Evie is left to pick up the shards of her dearest friend and sister.
1. Chapter 1

**One of the reviewers of my last story, whom only went by "Guest" made a suggestion. A Mal/Evie sisterly one-shot a little like my last one. I don't have a name so I shall only say this, wish granted my friend.**

 **To those who read the prequel book, you will recognize the scene from the start, but it's expanded upon, and creative liberties are taken.**

 **Also this is rated T but if anyone thinks it should be upped please let me know. Fair warning, this will not be pretty.**

 **Enjoy.**

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Ever since Mal could walk, Maleficent had taken her child on walks through the Isle of the Lost. Not to show her around the island that was her home mind you, but to show her daughter who would one day be her subjects, or minions as Maleficent liked to call them.

"The people must learn to fear you." Maleficent had attempted to drill into the little girl's head. "It's the only way to make them respect you." But the purple haired girl wasn't what you could call a good listener. She was only six years old after all, there were many other things she had a greater interest in.

While they walked, Mal had been too busy looking at all the new things she had never been able to see this close. Her view was always from the top balcony of the Bargain Castle. You could see for quite a ways but details were fuzzy at best. Mal had never been able to see the normal goings on of places like the market.

Maybe if she had, Mal would have done what she was supposed to do when that goblin fell.

Mal had been less than a few feet away when the small creature tripped and spilled the apples he had been carrying. The little girl stopped mid-step to look at the goblin before her. He was stumbling through an apology while frantically picking the contents of his basket up.

Mal hadn't thought her next action through, just reacted.

Kneeling down, she started picking up the small pieces of fruit. Dusting each off on her dress, she helped the goblin put them back into his basket. Once they were finished, the goblin said nothing and instead tried to bolt away from the now gathered crowd as fast as his smaller legs could carry him.

Mal watched his exit curiously before Maleficent acted, the goblin made the mistake of running past the mistress of evil. She kicked him so hard he fell again, his basket once more falling everywhere.

Mal opened her mouth to ask why her mother did that but the look on Maleficent's face stopped Mal cold. Maleficent being angry was not that rare a sight, but the look of pure rage on the dark fairy's face was unlike anything Mal had ever seen.

Only now did Mal notice the market had grown completely silent. Everyone was staring at her in expressions made from a combination of astonishment, fear, and... were some of them snickering?

Maleficent's hand roughly seized Mal beneath the arm and the little girl found herself being all but dragged away from the market. She tried several times to ask her mother what was wrong but the older fairy would just glare at her with such venom that it made a shiver run down Mal's spine.

The pair didn't stop until they had returned to their home above the Bargain Castle. Mal assumed that as soon as they were home, Maleficent would close the door behind them and explain what Mal had done wrong. The whole spectacle outside was just a show to the people to make it look like Maleficent hadn't grown soft.

Only it hadn't been a show, nothing was explained, and Maleficent didn't calm down when they were home.

Mal was dragged to a small room and shoved in so hard she lost her footing and fell to the floor. The impact of her small arm on the hard wooden flooring hurt badly. Clutching her injured arm, Mal sat up just in time to see her mother slam the door shut.

"Now you stay in there until you figure out what you've done!" Maleficent snarled from the other side of the closed doorway.

It was a small walk in closet of some sort. Due to its rare use, dust clung to everything in a thin layer. The room was almost completely empty. Again because of lack of use, the faulty light switch was never fixed. Leaving Mal sitting alone in a pitch black room, there was not even a window.

Of course Mal had been grounded before but she was usually confined to her bedroom during those times. Never had she been locked in a closet.

Not knowing what else to do, Mal sat against the far wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. She did her best to not think about how much her arm hurt.

Maleficent would calm down before long, Mal was sure of it. Once she had cooled off, Maleficent would come back and unlock the door so she could come out. All Mal had to do was wait her out.

A lot of time passed, how much Mal didn't know. No window meant she had no clue what time of day it was anymore. It had to of been several hours she sat in the dark. Mal did occasionally check if the door was locked but the metal knob remained fixed in place each time she tried.

The young fairy girl was starting to get hungry. Wasn't it almost dinner time? Maleficent should have opened the door by now. Her mother was punishing her with no dinner again, not the first time for that either.

Hour after hour, the pain in the pit of Mal's stomach continued to grow. As did the dryness in her mouth. Hunger was something Mal was no stranger too, thank the food shortage on the island for that one. But thirst was something unfamiliar to her. The water may not be the cleanest around but it was somewhat plentiful. When you were thirsty you got yourself a drink.

"Mom?" Mal called again as she subconsciously licked her chapped lips but there was no answer no matter how many times she yelled. "Can I come out now?"

Silence.

Growing worried, Mal moved to knock on the door several times. Not even a distant tap of footsteps from the other side.

Was Maleficent even still home?

Once more Mal settled down on the far wall in front of the door. At least the pain in her arm had died down a little. It was still sore but not as much as when she fell. Mal was scared at first it had been broken but it seemed to be alright for now.

"Mom!" Mal yelled at the top of her lungs as she banged on the door. She had definitely missed dinner. Meager thought it often was, it was food but the thought of any food right now was making Mal's stomach do back flips.

How long was her mother going to keep her in here?

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Turning over in her sleep, Evie stopped when she heard a noise from inside the room she and Mal shared. When she listened for a moment and heard nothing, she shrugged tried to go back to sleep once more.

That was when she heard it again. It was almost like a faint voice, as if someone was talking but it was heavily stifled.

Evie sighed, knowing she wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon if she kept being woken up like this. A girl needs her beauty sleep after all.

Sitting up, Evie rubbed the sleep from her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of the room. Nothing seemed out of place, her sewing machine sat in its traditional place on the table, the door was closed and locked as always, Mal lay in her own bed whimpering.

Wait... Mal whimpering?!

Throwing the covers off her body, Evie nearly fell flat on her face in her haste to get out of bed. She did stumble and barely caught herself with both hands before hitting the carpet on the floor face first.

No doubt their boys would be laughing themselves to death if they had seen Evie as she was now. Always so graceful and full of poise ever since the day they met on the Isle of the Lost, now scrambling across the floor on all fours like an animal, feet still tangled in blankets and muffled swears on her lips. But the girl had developed tunnel vision with only a single overriding directive.

Get to Mal.

Only after reaching Mal's bed was Evie actually able to regain her feet to look at the other girl. In the time span it took for Evie to dive from bed, Mal had begun thrashing about wildly, kicking off her bed sheets in the process. Her lavender locks splayed all across her pillow while she whimpered and cried, cheeks soaked in freshly fallen tears that showed no indication of stopping any time soon.

"Mommy please... what did I do?." Mal was begging now, and Mal _**never**_ begged. The sound was worse than nails on a chalkboard to Evie's ears.

Mal was always so confident and strong, her very nature despised weakness. Not in others as much in herself than anything. She meant it when they were preparing the love spell that she never cried. Tears were signs of weakness and Mal refused to show weakness.

She was no delicate flower, it was something Evie always admired about her. Even so, there were many times Evie wished she could just hug her and say that it was okay to not be strong all the time. No one, not even Mal, could hold up indefinitely.

"Please... Let me out..." Each word that passed Mal's lips was like a needle going through Evie's heart. It was less the words themselves, more the tone of them. All broken, afraid, and pleading.

What could she possibly do? Nightmares were one thing, but this had gone way beyond a simple nightmare. Evie didn't know what to call it but it wasn't that. How to handle a friend experiencing such terrors was not something Evie's mom had taught her. Neither could her time in Auradon prepare her for such an event.

Should she dash for the boys' dorm? Maybe Carlos and Jay would know what to do. Lonnie or Ben may be able to help too. The Asian girl being the closest she could reach in the shortest time.

Evie quashed that idea the moment it appeared. Leave the room and Mal on her own? Hell no, Evie would face Maleficent at full power before she did that.

Then there was another problem. Mal would never want anyone to see her like this, not even Jay or Carlos. She probably didn't want Evie seeing it either but the daughter of the Evil Queen was here whether she liked it or not. Involving more people would just upset Mal worse when she awoke. She valued her privacy and independence too much.

As Evie stared down at her dearest friend's distress, she steeled herself for what she was going to attempt. Whatever you were supposed to do for a person in such a state she didn't know, but Evie did know what she was going to do.

Taking a deep breath, Evie jumped into the bed with Mal.

Mal's body was still flailing, arms and legs going every which way. In her attempt to get close, Evie had taken a knee to the stomach but beyond a soft gasp of pain, she ignored the blow. Then came a stray elbow to Evie's jaw that split her lip. Even though she now tasted a little blood in her mouth, Evie soldiered on. How Evie didn't know, but Mal somehow managed to rip Evie's favorite nightshirt during their chaotic struggle.

It took longer than Evie thought, but she was able to get her arms around the half fairy girl and pin her arms to her sides, one against Evie's own chest. Using her own leg, Evie wrapped one around both of Mal's smaller ones to cease their movement as well.

It was almost the only time that Evie was ever glad she was physically larger than Mal. Never did she think she would have to restrain her friend like this.

After Evie had her in a tight embrace, Mal never ceased her movements. More than once she threatened to break free from Evie's hold but the taller girl refused to relent.

For Mal's own sake, Evie was glad the sounds she made were not as loud as they could be. It was either that or the room was a lot more soundproofed than she thought. Last thing the two girls needed was someone to come knocking. Evie wanted help, but she respected Mal's wish for privacy more.

"Shh, it's okay." Evie whispered into Mal's ear just loud enough to be heard over her soft wails. "I've got you Mal. It's okay."

If Mal heard her she didn't show it.

Thank Lucifer Mal's spells didn't seem to work while she slept. Evie shuddered to imagine what creek they would be up if she was firing her magic off at a time like now.

If this night was any hint to the future, whatever dam was holding Mal back had been broken. Something told Evie tonight was only the beginning.

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 **Why didn't I just put this with my other story and make it multi-chapter? Because I was originally going to but decided against it. Instead this will be several chapters, how many I have no clue. I only have a somewhat idea where I'm going. Mostly making it up as I go.**

 **As always reviews and especially suggestions are very much welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I actually have almost no idea where I'm going with this. I only had one chapter planned despite the fact it was built to be continued. So therefore, I would really appreciate any suggestions.**

 **Enjoy.**

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Sometime over the course of the night, Mal had calmed down. She was still asleep but her thrashing had ceased. Even after she went still, Evie didn't let go of her. All night she sat there watching over the fairy just in case something happened again.

Only after the sun rose did she release Mal. Evie snuck back into her bed to look like she was sleeping. They had another hour or so before they had to get up to get ready for class.

Evie was tired but her worry for Mal won out, as everything Mal related did in her mind. Turning over onto her side, Evie had watched the once more peaceful Mal sleep. After leaving Mal's bed, she fixed the bed sheets to look like Mal never removed them.

Their alarm went off right on time, it was the first time since she stopped moving that Mal stirred. Evie closed her eyes and pretended that she had never woken up.

The day when on as it always did. The two girls got ready, went to class, Mal smiled and talked to her friends like nothing happened.

Evie herself looked pristine as always. Her skills in the use of makeup proved more than adequate to cover any signs of sleeplessness. The bruise on her stomach from Mal's first blow was easy enough to hide, so was the tear in her nightshirt.

At first she thought the split lip was going to be a problem. Thankfully, Mal had fallen for the excuse that Evie had walked into a door. She obviously didn't entirely believe it, but Evie dismissed her concern with a giggle and an offhand comment about being clumsy.

Apart from seeming to be a little tired, which was nothing special, Mal showed no sign of the previous nights events. That didn't stop Evie from watching the girl like a hawk. As subtle as she could do so of course.

It was lunch time that Evie saw a hint of something wrong.

Everyone were in their usual places at the table. Jay and Carlos sat side by side opposite Evie and Mal, Ben with his arm around his girlfriend, and Lonnie beside Jay. Doug was normally there but he was out doing something for the school band.

Mal always did smile bigger and laugh more, real smiles and laughs, when she was around Ben. Evie was so distracted by seeing Mal in such a good mood that she almost forgot she was supposed to be watching her for clues about what happened. She barely caught something wrong with the fairy girl.

It was the food.

Coming from the island, the four were used to eating little. In the beginning, Jay and Carlos were dumb enough to devour everything put in front of them the moment they saw it. As a result they got sick several times. Despite being in Auradon for this long, they were still getting accustomed to the abundance of food here.

While everyone was distracted, Mal had scarfed down hers instead of eating slowly like normal. She even stole some from Ben's tray when the young king wasn't looking.

It didn't take long for her face to turn green.

"Be right back." Mal jumped up from her seat, shoving Ben's arm away from around her waist. He tried to say something but Mal was already leaving the room, walking as fast as she could without it looking like she was running. The ruler of Auradon shrugged and returned to his food.

Evie sighed. Ben loved Mal but he really needed to learn what all her behaviors meant and how to react accordingly. Evie on the other hand knew all of them quite well.

The blue haired girl excused herself and followed the direction Mal left. She knew exactly where her best friend had went.

When Evie opened the bathroom door, she winced when she was greeted by the sound of someone vomiting in one of the stalls. Mal should have known better than to eat so much as quickly as she did. Evie had learned that lesson having just been forced to listen to the boys' whining when they did the same.

"M?" Evie knocked on the stall door. Thank Lucifer she and Mal were the only ones in the bathroom. Evie didn't want anyone else to see Mal like this. More for Mal's sake than her own.

"I'm fine E. Be back to lunch in a minute." Mal croaked from the other side of the door just before she was overtaken by another round of heaves.

Evie rolled her eyes. Typical Mal, brushing aside anyone asking about her wellbeing. Always having to be so strong, never allowing one crack in her facade to be seen.

"You and I both know I'm not going anywhere." Evie leaned against the side of the stall with her arms folded. "You might as well tell me what's going on M."

"It's just a stomach bug E." Mal groaned just before the sound of the toilet flushing reached Evie's ears. A few heartbeats later the door opened and Mal came out. "Nothing to really worry about."

"Then why did you eat like Jay when he had his first Auradon lunch?" Evie watched as the fairy moved over to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Evie didn't miss the way Mal's shoulders tensed.

"I was hungry." Mal once more deflected, her words sounded like she herself didn't entirely believe them.

"Do you really think I'm going to buy that?" Evie turned a glare on Mal. The fairy had to know Evie wouldn't be fooled so easy. Mal must be desperate to hide whatever it was.

"Yes because it's true." Mal shot back. Evie could see the stubbornness written all across her face. Mal was not going to admit defeat no matter what Evie did or said.

"Okay fine." Evie sighed. "Let's get back."

Heading back to the table, Evie resumed her vigil. Ben to his credit asked Mal what was going on but she flashed a smile and the young king was butter in the fairy's hands.

Evie liked Ben, she really did. Nothing had made her best friend so happy in all time Evie knew her. Ben was one of the best people Evie had ever known, a true pure heart. But right now, Evie felt like slapping the boy upside the head with the nearest blunt object.

Maybe then he would pay better attention to his girlfriend.

After the lunch debacle, nothing else happened all day. Evie was lucky to have most of her classes with Mal, she could keep watch without alerting anyone else there was a problem. More than once she considered going to Ben, or even Jay and Carlos.

Jay and Carlos were either unobservant, or didn't know how to approach the matter at hand. It was probably for the best. Evie loved the boys dearly but their tact was not the best.

Ben was more sensitive but like the others he didn't notice something out of place. In all honesty Evie couldn't blame him, he grew up here in Auradon. Whereas the four of them did so on the isle. A few months was not enough time to understand the nuances of the people around you.

So far, Mal was only suffering from a nightmare and a small bout of overeating. Nothing to be truly concerned about. Yet Evie still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than was in plain view.

Only time would tell.

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 **Yeah, sorry it's so short. As I said, I've gotten as far as my mind had thought out. My brain keeps wanting to focus on my other story Package Deal. I could use some suggestions of what you would all like to see next here.**


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